A Heart-to-Heart

Yesterday we were riding over to Nana and Pop's after having been to a birthday party for a friend's 1-year-old. The party was wild - in a good way. Kids were running all over an indoor gym and Madeline had had a lot of fun once she got over her initial shyness. But I began to worry that something had happened when I wasn't paying attention because she was sitting very quietly in her car seat, staring blankly out the window.

"Madeline?"

No answer.

"Madeline, honey?"

"I'm right here. Just looking at things."

Dave and I exchanged a concerned look. Did someone do something to her? Did another parent yell at her? Did a child push her or call her a name?

"Madeline, are you okay?" I asked.

Again, no answer. She continued looking out the window, averting eye contact with me. Oh my gosh. Okay, something was definitely wrong. How was I going to get it out of her? How could I help her?

"Did something happen at the party?" I continued to gently prod.

"Madeline, you can tell us if something happened," Dave added.

She still wouldn't look at me and I had to swallow down the dread. What could have possibly happened to cause my ordinarily open child to close up like this?

"You can tell us anything," I said. "Honey, please tell me what's wrong." She must have heard the urgency in my voice because she finally looked at me.

"No...Nothing," she stuttered. "Nothing." Oh boy. This was her go-to reply, a stuttering "nothing" when something was really wrong.

"What is it, Madeline? Tell me."

Finally, she seemed ready to talk.

"Mommy?"

"Yes," I said, holding my breath.

"I have a wedgie."

If only all of our future heart-to-hearts would prove to be so anticlimactic, involving nothing more than big-girl panty wedgies...